This semester I had the opportunity of working with Beacon House on their Building Resilient Youth Through Connection and Empowerment (BRYCE) project. Beacon House is an after-school education and youth development program located in Ward 5 that serves minority African American (96%) and Hispanic (94%) children. Most of the children who attend Beacon House live in the Edgewood Commons where the average household income is $12,000.
Despite the challenges these children face, 90% of Beacon House’s high school seniors graduate each year and pursue higher education. As a practice fellow, I had the pleasure of working directly with Dr. Monica Ruiz and Beacon House’s CEO, Kevin Hinton. Through my work, I was tasked with developing a directory of behavioral health resources in DC. This resource guide is geared towards helping the youth that Beacon House serves and addresses topics that these children may be struggling with such as body image, mental health, substance abuse, bullying, gender identity, and more.
The goal is to develop this behavioral health directory into a website that can be easily accessible to the Beacon House community, with the content housed at our school where it can be continuously updated. One thing that I greatly enjoyed from this experience was getting involved with an organization that is directly impacting the community. After attending Beacon House and its 30th anniversary celebration event, it was clear the impact Beacon House has had on its students, parents, and other members of the community. The enormous trophy wall and publications attributed to children at Beacon House demonstrate its ability to help youth achieve their greatest potential. It was humbling for me to be able to work with such an incredible organization
Additionally, this opportunity has allowed me to work closely with and learn from amazing professors, especially Dr. Monica Ruiz. Through this experience, I was able to get directly involved in the community and apply the skills I have acquired in the classroom to a real-world setting. I also have been able to use this opportunity for my Practicum experience and plan on building off my work for my Culminating Experience project. I would 100% recommend students apply to fellowship opportunities such as the one I did at Beacon House. They are a great way to develop your public health skills outside of the classroom and get involved in the community.
Cammie Dopke is an MPH student who matriculated in fall 2021.